Silver Minings: Will we see more Marcus Mariota packages?

In the weeks since he returned from an injury, the Las Vegas Raiders have occasionally sprinkled a Marcus Mariota package into the offense. It has produced solid results and it’ll will be interesting to see if offensive coordinator Greg Olson will decide to add more Mariota plays in the final five games of the 2021 season to help kickstart the offense, which has struggled during a stretch in which it has lost four of the past five games.

So far, Mariota has five carries for 45 yards and a touchdown this season.

Of course, these type of packages are most effective when used in small doses to catch the opposing defenses off guard. Also, it would disrupt the flow of the offense, in general, if both starter Derek Carr and backup Mariota were on the field together for big stretches. It is just not sustainable. But using Mariota more in the red zone (the Raiders have the 29th ranked red-zone offense) could be something Olson shows more down the stretch.

In other Raiders’ links:

• No surprise: Carr said he is not surprised at all that slot receiver Hunter Renfrow is having a huge season.
• Hayward’s big season: The Athletic has a feature on Raiders’ cornerback Casey Hayward, who is having a big season.
• Pro Bowl voting: Here are the Raiders who are in the mix in the Pro Bowl fan vote.
• Carr trade bait? The San Jose Mercury News examines.
• Hot ticket: The most expensive ticket in the NFL this week is the Raiders’ game at Arrowhead Stadium.